DATUS
SOCCER ACADEMY was established by the
Executive Director of DATUS COMPLEX SCHOOLS LTD. This was out
of his vision to help the government of Ghana get some school going
children off the streets. This became a reality when he launched the
40th Anniversary celebration of DATUS COMPLEX SCHOOLS LTD
in December 2002 and announced to the public his intension and
required the support of the management of the school and also the
general public. It is this regards that a survey was conducted and
the reports showed that boys of school going age prefer to play
football rather than to go to school.
They play
football all day under the scorching sun, missing school and also
not knowing the damage they are doing to their health. It was
decided that children with talent in football should form the basis
for this project hence the name DATUS
SOCCER ACADEMY. The motive was to
allow these children to be in a well structured school, attend
school regularly, close at the normal closing time and afterwards
play football before the close of the day. During the course of the
year in 2003, we admitted into the academy 60 children between the
ages of 8 – 15 years. All these children have been given
scholarship to attend school free. It is one of our major
priorities to give these children education and also help them
develop their God-given talent. We have come to realize that this
move has not only given the boys the opportunity to belong to a well
organized school but also given them the chance to play organized
football. They are being taught the rudiments of football and what
it takes to excel in life. As an educational institution, we hope to
educate them to the best of our ability so as to give them the
opportunity to have a career should any of them not take football as
a profession. We have secured a hostel to keep the boys together.
They are resident in the academy’s hostel and also enjoy free
feeding among other facilities available to them.
We are registered
with the GHANA FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION in the U12, U14 and U17
categories and play the GREATER ACCRA REGIONAL JUVENILE AND ACCRA
METROPOLITAN JUVENILE LEAGUES. During the course of the year 2003,
the U12 team place 2nd by the close of the league and the
U17 placed 4th in their category. The U14 league could
not be organized due to lack of sponsorship. In July 2003, our U14
and U17 teams were invited to participate in the Norway Cup
tournament but this was called off due to the late issuance of
visas. Even though this discouraged the boys, they put themselves
together and continued with their training against subsequent
tournaments. During the latter part of 2003, we played very well
organized soccer academies like Feyenoord FC, Polo Academy, FC Nania
(Abedi Pele’s team) among others. We also played a few curtain
raiser matches at our national stadium during the Coca Cola Top 4
tournament.
During the
year 2004, we were invited to participate in the Aberdeen
International Football Tournament (AIFF) in July. This invitation
came through an old student of our school who heard of the good work
we are doing and also our level of organization. The Tournament
started from the 11th to 18th of July 2004. We
took part in the U16 category where we presented our U14 boys. We
played teams from South Africa, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and the
Faroe Islands. In the end we took the
bronze medal for the 11 a-side and won gold in the 5
a-side and knock-out games.
It is our hope to
develop this beautiful game in our country and also to promote the
boys to the extent of playing professional football in the near
future. We also will love to affiliate with other football teams and
soccer academies over the world. Currently out U17 boys just turned
17yrs this year and are ready to play for any team that may require
their services. We are also willing to play international friendly
matches when the opportunity comes.
Our doors are
open to pieces of advice and support, particularly SPONSORSHIP AND
AFFILIATION. If you are touched to lend us support or
affiliate, please do not hesitate to contact us on.